Hi first time overclocking this, please check and give advice! thanks :)

Howdy how is everyone! i just joined , and below was my first attempt at overclocking my AMD system. Here’s what I did! if anyone can give me some advice or what I should do and shouldn't do and point out if I did anyting wrong that would be wholeheartedly appreciated


Here’s what I start with:
(1) CPU: Athlon x4 860K Quad Core, 3.7ghz , 4.0ghz turbo
(2) Motherboard: ASRock FM2A75 Pro4+
(3) Heatsink/fan: using the “Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro” fan/heatsink with the Tuniq TX-2 thermal greese
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185125
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...2&cm_re=Tuniq_TX-2-_-9SIA2E116U5682-_-Product
(4) PowerSupply: Thermaltake TR2 TR-600 600W ATX12V v2.3 SLI CrossFire http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153166
(5) VideoCard: Radeon r7 250x 1GB GDDR5 SDRAM
(6) Memory: 4 x 4 GB DDR3-1333/PC3-10600 total 16 GB. Ok so... since i am on tight budget, my memory chips are a mixed bag.. i do plan to get the AMD memory chips to use with the AMP profile when i have some $. for now this is what i have




Here’s what I changed:

(1) I changed the CPU frequency muliptler from 37 to 45, so now the system is running at 4500mhz , and my CPU voltage from 1.3250V to 1.5500V and CPU voltage offset from 0 to +0.024V
Queston#1: ide temp is hovering around 60C.. is that too high? Should OC'ing to 4500mhz give it that high temperatue if i had install the heatsink/fan/thermal greese set up correctly? I am a afraid i applied the greese incorrectly since I wasn't able to get all the old thermal greease off the heatsink, I just upgraded the CPU. :X



(2) increase my NB frequency mulitper from 18 to 20, so my NB frequency is now 2000mhz instead of the original 1800mhz from before, increased my NB/GFX voltage from 1.1375V to 1.15625V .
Question2: but is 2000mhz still too low? Should I increase it some more? i remember reading that it should be 3 times your dram freq, and since mine is only 667mhz at the moment, then 2000mhz is fine? or i should still increase it some more?


(3) I didn’t increase the APU/PCIE Frequency in bios, my bus speed is still at default 100.0 mhz
Queston#3: Should I increase the bus speed too in addition to the CPU freq multiper you think? Is it better to change the bus speed only, or change the CPU/NB mulitpler only? Or do a combination of both? If increase bus speed, lets say i increase my bus speed to 105.0 mhz, how much increase in APU PCIE Voltage VDDP would I need ? Currently it's at default value of 1.052V. In bios I also see a “SB Voltage” with default value of 1.10V that I can change as well, but I am not entirely sure under what circumstance that I would need to increase the SB voltage ?


(4) I left the “APU Load-line calibration” setting in bios as "default". I am guessing it has to do with voltage but I googled them still not ssure I undestand ...
Question4: The choice for that are (1) default (2) ½ Vcore (3) ½ Vcore NB (4) ½ Vcore + ½ Vcore NB, whichh shoould I pick? or it probably really doenst matter tha tmuch?


(5) I tried to OC my memory from ddr3-1333 to ddr3-1866 in bios, but system won’t boot, so just tried to increase to DDR3-1600, system would start and everyting works fine, but would give me blue screen memory dump error screen from time to time, maybe either not enough dram voltage or they are just a mixed bags of memory chips for now I am just running the dram frequency at stock 667mhz
Queston5: Is 667 mhz too low? Or is that fine? am a little hesitated to change the dram voltage cuz of the memory, afraid they might just burned and died , right now voltage is at 1.500V, if i were to attempt to increase my current memory either to 1600 or 1866 or even 2133, how much of an increase in dram voltage should i start out with? But Would you even recommend me trying to increase them based on what i have above? I don't have money yet to buy the expensive AMD memory chips to use with the AMP memory profile, I plan to eventually! for now that's all i have


(6) in bios I originally have "AHCI mode" setup and have “SATA IDE Combined Mode” turn off, so all my SATA ports are in ACHI mode. but now I have to actually enable “ SATA IDE combined mode” because I need to turn one of the SATA port from AHCI mode back to IDE mode, the reason was because after I OC the system, most of the times bios doesn’t recongize my LG internal SATA blu-ray burner is there. This never happen before I oc the system, drive was content in AHCI mode
shock: Questoin6: If anyone knows why my drive is feeling discontent, please tell me lol


So that’s what I done! let me know what i need to change it be greatly appreciated

Thanks!!

Ypu want to go to fast/
60°C Idling, your CPU is going to be cooked as soon as you launch any app. 60°Cis the max you want to see onFULL p95 load!

Why 1.55v?

Like Manu said slow down. The first thing weneed is for you to download AMD Overdrive and use it for monitoring tmps. It seems to be the only software at the moment that's somewhat accurate. Then we'll see how your temps look before you try overclocking anything. So go to bios and set defaults, then run P95 blend and monitor temps. About 20 minutes in take a snip with AMD OD open so we can see whats up.

thanks guys! i thoguht there was soething not right, my system shut down a few times already i think due to high temperature, i just purchased new thermal greese from newegg, once it arrives i will reapply it making sure it's set properly and i'll let you know if the temp goes do wn!

Man 1.55v is a lot of volts!

Do as Johan says: reset the bios to default, and have a 20 min Prime95 blend run.

Why assuming the tIM is not applied properly? What if it is OK?

Perform this check first and come back to us

cuz of this article http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cpu_mainboard/amd_athlon_860k_black_edition_cpu_review/2

i thought it nmight be the thermal cuz i didn't take the old stuff all out first lol i was being impatient, i kinda put new thermnal on existing old ones that i couldtn get out lol. but yes i am going to reset the bios to default, and have a 20 min Prime95 blend run and let you know results never use it b4.. :X

by the way, would something lilke what i mentioned in #6 above happened though? that after I OC the system, my dvd drive doesn't get recongize in AHCI-SATA mode but only in IDE-SATA mode? I will reset it to all again to test So ideally , what should be the un'oc'ed idle temp be???

will let you know after i ran prime95 blend run !

That was probably from messing with your ram. Once you have everything at default see if it'll recognixe the ODD inAHCI then.

How many different sticks of Ram are you running, I see the team set, a micron stick and a no name. When trying to Oc you may be better off just running the Team set until you find a stable OC , then try putting the other sticks back it.

lendbz said:

cuz of this article http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cpu_mainboard/amd_athlon_860k_black_edition_cpu_review/2

i thought it nmight be the thermal cuz i didn't take the old stuff all out first lol i was being impatient, i kinda put new thermnal on existing old ones that i couldtn get out lol. but yes i am going to reset the bios to default, and have a 20 min Prime95 blend run and let you know results never use it b4.. :X

Click to expand...

Wow deffinitely pull your cooler off and clean the old tim off. For the new put a small dot in the center of the cpu the size of a grain of rice and make sure the cooler seats properly and has plenty of mounting pressure. Make sure to tighten in a star pattern.

And to clean use 90% or above rubbing alcohol and some q tips or a lint free cloth. Just make sure it's completely clean.

Hmmm i apologized for the late response.

Mandrake4565 said:

How many different sticks of Ram are you running, I see the team set, a micron stick and a no name. When trying to Oc you may be better off just running the Team set until you find a stable OC , then try putting the other sticks back it.

Click to expand...

4. 2 Team set, 1 micron, 1 from "Silicon Power Computer & Communications" with part number DBLT4GN128O
, only the teamset actually have a heatsink, the rest are just sticks

FOr these cheap o sticks, how much do you think I can actually OC them to??? do u think theres any chance they will be stable if i try to OC them from ddr1333 to even 1600??

what's a good program to test if OC is stable? Prime95 mentioned above? sorry im a noob

As for temperatue, after resetting all settings to normal default with no OC, using speedfan, my CPU is idlying at 44C... not a good sign right?? what's a normal CPU idle temperature???? and how high should I let it go to when OC before it becomes bad for my CPU? and what about for video card? GPU is currently idleing around 46C, system overall around 33C.

i am running the primne95 blend test now, when running the blend test, it increase my CPU temp from 43 to almost over 65. that's not supposed to be right? if i did the thermal with my heatsink/fan properly?

im using this heatsink/fan



let me fix the thermal and rerun the test. what 's a good stress test to test the stability of OC system???? prime95 would work?

63c for a CPU temp is acceptable if it's a full load temp. When we say "CPU temp" around here we mean the CPU socket temp, i.e., the temp being read from the CPU socket area of the motherboard.

The other really important temp is the "core" temp, aka, "package" temp. This is the temp inside the processor. That one should not exceed a temp about 5-10c lower than CPU temp.

Which one are you referring to when you say "CPU temp is 63c"?

Running mixed RAM like that is not a good thing, especially when overclocking. You're just inviting instability.

Your CPU cooler may not be up to this task you are asking it to do.

Also, high temps can be caused by poor case ventilation. What is the make and model of your case? Try taking the side panel off the case and re-running the 20 minute Prime95 "blend" stress test. Does it lower your temps?

If that Athlon is anything like the A10-7850k I had, the only software I could find that gave me accurate temperature readings was AMD overdrive. The only caveat would be it doesn't give you actual temps it gives you distance to Max recommended temps. So as the temp shown drops you are getting closer to max temps. Additionally as Trents stated running mis matched ram is inviting problems. Try running the matching set only while overclocking, until you find stability. If you then throw the mis matched sticks in and have issues you have a good idea it's causing the problems.

trents said:

63c for a CPU temp is acceptable if it's a full load temp. When we say "CPU temp" around here we mean the CPU socket temp, i.e., the temp being read from the CPU socket area of the motherboard.

The other really important temp is the "core" temp, aka, "package" temp. This is the temp inside the processor. That one should not exceed a temp about 5-10c lower than CPU temp.

Which one are you referring to when you say "CPU temp is 63c"?

Running mixed RAM like that is not a good thing, especially when overclocking. You're just inviting instability.

Your CPU cooler may not be up to this task you are asking it to do.

Also, high temps can be caused by poor case ventilation. What is the make and model of your case? Try taking the side panel off the case and re-running the 20 minute Prime95 "blend" stress test. Does it lower your temps?

Click to expand...

So after re-applying the thernal greese, running the prime95 test before OC'ing, in speedfan, the CPU temp goes up to 56C and "core" temp goes up to 45C, but at idle, the CPU temp is around 38C but the "core" temp can goes down to 12C .... maybe the "core" temp in speedfan is not really core? Is it possible for core temp to be 12C?? maybe speedfan is reading it wrong...

As for case ventilation, attached are pics of how my case is with the fan locations, let me know if should change the airflow of any of them? I am actually not sure what's the best way to set them up... that blue thing in the pic is another fan i got from newegg. here is the link of that blue thing, do i need it?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835200019
and i am not using that video card in the pic, in the pic is a geforce gtx 650 for testing with tdp of 65W, currently using a r7-250x which has tdp of 80W


I am trying to use the AMD overdrive as suggested above, but every i use the AMD overdrive auto-tune, my computer restarts eventually I think my CPU overheated from it...

SO i am ready to OC my athlon x4 860 again, to acheive 4500mhz from current 3700mhz, what's the best way?
(1) should I just change the cpu muliplter from 37 to 45 and leave the apu/bus speed at 100? if so, how much voltage should i give it initially to test? default is 1.3250V. you guys say 1.550V is way too high right?
(2) or should I also increase my bus speed from 100 to some number, so it's a mix of both cpu/bus speed frequency, maybe to 105 , then cpu frequency would need to be only 43, since 43 * 105 = 4515mhz? if i do that, the current . APU PCIE voldage is 1.052V, how much should i increase both the cpu and apu/pcie voltage?
(3) currnetly my NB frequency mulitper is 18 so NB frequency is 1800mhz, is it worth it to OC it? if so how much should I oc and how much voltage should i start with from initial 1.1375v?
(4) I left the “APU Load-line calibration” setting in bios as "default". I googled it still not understanding it. should i change from default to "½ Vcore " , " ½ Vcore NB ", or " ½ Vcore + ½ Vcore NB" ? not sure what they mean, do they make big differences?

After OC'ing, what's the acceptable temperature for idle CPU and core temp, and what's the acceptable temp for under full load running the prime95 blend test?


(5) i have some money to upgrade my memory now, from those 4 chip of 4gb ddr3-1333 (total 16gb). I plan to replace them with 2 x 8gb (total 16gb) ddr3-1866. But since I am only replacing 16gb with 16gb, is it worth the $150 to shell out? how much better in performance would i get from upgrade to the ddr3-1866 2x8gb? And I plan to purchase the AMD raedeon memory so I can use the AMP profile presets timings and OC it ddr3-2400. How much performance differences would I see if i do that? or should i just leave it at 1866????

So should I go ahead and buy the AMD raedeom memory for $159 ddr3-1866 2x8gb? $159
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820103038
or do you think this followinig one would do fine, it is $20 cheaper than the AMD one. I probably won't be able to OC this one to ddr3-2400, right? $139
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104461


And do i need to upgrade my powersupply to acheive all that I want to OC? currently i am using "Thermaltake TR2 TR-600 600W ATX12V v2.3 SLI CrossFire Power Supply".
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153166


thanks!
lendbz

I am trying to use the AMD overdrive as suggested above, but every i use the AMD overdrive auto-tune, my computer restarts eventually I think my CPU overheated from it...

Click to expand...

If you re-read what I wrote above I did not say use AMD overdrive to overclock it. I said to use it to monitor the temperature, reason being is I found it the only accurate program to read my AMD A10-7850k APU which I believe is similar to your chip.

Lendbz, you need to take a step back and slow down. Have you removed the two odd ball sticks from the setup yet? Overclocking is a process that takes patience, there is no plug and play numbers we can give you to tell you what your system will be able to run at because ever chip and setup is different. For starters clean your system, I see dust everywhere in the pics posted and dust = heat. Second, when we are learning a new system especially for new overclockers, we change one thing at a time and test. You cannot just jump the multiplier to 45 from 37 and hope it works. Please read this guide, it will give you a better understanding of what you need to do in order to Oc you computer. The guide is on a Fx processor but the concept is the same.

Looks like your case could use a good cleaning with compressed air. I see lots of dust there. And it also looks like you are in need of serious cable and wire management to improve air flow.

As Manny said, you need to approach your overclocking in a more systematic, incremental way. The proper method is to make small changes to only one variable at a time and then test for temps and stability before making more changes. It requires patience. So make start by resetting everything back to stock frequencies and voltages. Then start increasing the CPU core speed multiplier by .5x increments. With AMD Overdrive open in the background to the temp monitoring tab, run the Prime95 blend test for 20 minutes. You want to keep the processor temp from exceeding 60-65c. If you pass the Prime95 stress test, increase the multiplier another .5x. When you first fail the stress test, add another .025 to the CPU core voltage and retest. Repeat that process until you hit either a temp or instability wall and then report back with pics of CPU-z tabs: CPU, Memory and SPD.

Mandrake4565 said:

If you re-read what I wrote above I did not say use AMD overdrive to overclock it. I said to use it to monitor the temperature, reason being is I found it the only accurate program to read my AMD A10-7850k APU which I believe is similar to your chip.

Lendbz, you need to take a step back and slow down. Have you removed the two odd ball sticks from the setup yet? Overclocking is a process that takes patience, there is no plug and play numbers we can give you to tell you what your system will be able to run at because ever chip and setup is different. For starters clean your system, I see dust everywhere in the pics posted and dust = heat. Second, when we are learning a new system especially for new overclockers, we change one thing at a time and test. You cannot just jump the multiplier to 45 from 37 and hope it works. Please read this guide, it will give you a better understanding of what you need to do in order to Oc you computer. The guide is on a Fx processor but the concept is the same.

Click to expand...

trents said:

Looks like your case could use a good cleaning with compressed air. I see lots of dust there. And it also looks like you are in need of serious cable and wire management to improve air flow.

As Manny said, you need to approach your overclocking in a more systematic, incremental way. The proper method is to make small changes to only one variable at a time and then test for temps and stability before making more changes. It requires patience. So make start by resetting everything back to stock frequencies and voltages. Then start increasing the CPU core speed multiplier by .5x increments. With AMD Overdrive open in the background to the temp monitoring tab, run the Prime95 blend test for 20 minutes. You want to keep the processor temp from exceeding 60-65c. If you pass the Prime95 stress test, increase the multiplier another .5x. When you first fail the stress test, add another .025 to the CPU core voltage and retest. Repeat that process until you hit either a temp or instability wall and then report back with pics of CPU-z tabs: CPU, Memory and SPD.

Click to expand...

Thanks all yep i will do that! and i have removed the two unmatched memory stick I came by some extra money, I was thinking about spending them on new memory sticks. Or do you guys think I should buy something else for my system instead? Roughly $150. I was thinking to do this

instead of using the two chip of 4gb ddr3-1333 (total 8gb). I was thinking to replace them with 2 x 8gb (total 16gb) ddr3-1866. But should I purchase the AMD raedeon memory so I can use the AMP profile presets timings and OC it to 2400. How much performance differences would I see from ddr3-1866 vs OC ddr3-2400?

The below, which should I get? My motherboard can support these speed 2600(OC)/2400(OC)/2133/1866/1600/1333/1066.
Tthe AMD radeon memory ddr3-1866 2x8gb , which I think I will try to use the AMP profile thinggie to see if I can OC to 2400 if I can - $159
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820103038
OR should I just go with this cheap Team Vulcan ones, $25 cheaper, and it's ddr3-2133 instead, which I won't OC and just leave it at 2133 - $135
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313408
Though that one looks a bit unreliable? OR maybe the Kingston HyperX Fury ones, $20 cheaper than the AMD ones, ddr3-1866. - $139
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104461

Let me know what you guys advise on the memory. Or if think I should spend the $150 on something else in my system? thanks!

I would not spend money on fast Memory as your processor is a CPU and not an APU. It's actually a crippled APU. The integrated GPU has been disabled. If it were an APU I would recommend spending extra and getting the high speed memory since the graphics processor part really benefits from high speed RAM. As it is, however you will not see benefit from the fast RAM. I would recommend going with 8 gb of dual channel G.Skill Ripjaws 1866 mhz. It is widely compatible with various systems. I would not spend extra on AMD brand RAM personally. RAM is RAM. You can adjust the timings manually if necessary.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231455

And then I would take the money you saved and purchase this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099


Do you live in the USA? If not, your prices on these components may be vastly different than what my links reflect.

trents said:

I would not spend money on fast Memory as your processor is a CPU and not a APU. It's actually a crippled APU. The integrated GPU has been disabled. If it were an APU I would recommend spending extra and getting the high speed memory since the graphics processor part really benefits from high speed RAM. As it is, however you will not see benefit from the fast RAM. I would recommend going with 8 gb of dual channel G.Skill Ripjaws 1866 mhz. It is widely compatible with various systems. I would not spend extra on AMD brand RAM personally. RAM is RAM. You can adjust the timings manually if necessary.

Click to expand...

I see i see. Do you think though I would benefit nmore if I instead upgrade my video card to R9 280x, or would you recommend me upgrading the ram? My system is used both for gaming (the most graphic iintensive game I have currently is skyrim), so was thinking ab out graphic card, but I also use my system for programming with visual studio 2010 /sql server, so was thinking about ram. Also watch blu-ray on it sometimes not much though
THere's a r9 280x on newegg going for $140 after rebates and coupon
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131570

SHould I upgrade ram or video card??? can only do one

I would go for a new card personally. You already have lots of ram and it wouldn't surprise me if you could just up the voltage to 1.65v and run that stuff at 1600. No guarantee but it's always worth a try.

Yes, your current video card will be very limiting for a lot of games. I would agree with Johan45. RAM speed is a pretty minor player with regard to CPU performance, actually.